From Summer to Fall at 17 Months

Lucy has been a mover and a shaker this month, and is definitely exerting her independence more and more. If it's time to get dressed, she will run in the opposite direction. If it's time to get her shoes on to go somewhere, again, she will run in the opposite direction as fast as she can. Really, this past month has just been constant running with Will or I chasing after her and ending it in a tackle. It is quite exhausting, and my mega-tiredness from the first trimester of pregnancy isn't helping. Some days I just sit and hold her shoes while she runs around full speed and then eventually gets bored because no one is chasing her. Then she'll slowly wander over to me, and as soon as she is close enough, I snag her and put her in a vice like hold until I have her shoes on, or whatever other article of clothing I am trying to have her wear. She of course puts up a champion-worthy struggle and lets me know her frustration at being confined. And as if to prove her independence, Lucy's favorite phrase this month is "Bye Mom!" In the picture below she is yelling it while Will gives her wheelbarrow rides around the yard. She also is yelling "Bye Mom!" in the picture below. She likes to swing objects that I am assuming represent purses over her shoulder while waving goodbye to me. I usually reply "Bye Lucy, I'll miss you!" which Lucy thinks is hilarious.
Other favorite words this month included "more", "hot", "Elmo" and "no". The "no" is used most of the time when she means "yes" so we are never sure if and when she actually means "no". Screaming usually clues us in though. Lucy also knows her opposites - in, out, up, down, on and off and uses them at the appropriate times. She has really improved on her talking and will repeat whatever we say when prompted. If we don't understand a word she is saying she will keep repeating it louder and louder until we repeat back what we think she said. She knows when we aren't comprehending what she said, and it is tough to not know what she means. Lately it takes a couple of days, and then it dawns on Will or I what the word means and we repeat it back to her and she claps her hands like we are the ones learning the language.

Lucy has begun climbing on everything this past month. One of her more useful climbing tricks has allowed her to see out the windows by standing on the heating register and pulling herself up by the window sill. Here she is at the kitchen window watching for Will to come home from work.
She also can now climb into her doll stroller at which point she demands to be buckled (safety first!) and then pushed around the living room.

She is super proud of herself for being able to climb into her rocking chair from her Aunt Michele.

She can't quite climb up on the toilet yet, but that hasn't stopped her from making good use of it. She has gone potty on several random occasions in the toilet, and Will and I are starting to wonder when we should officially start potty training since she also says "poop" and "pee" when she is doing the respective action in her diaper.

And with all the climbing, she is sleeping just a tad better. I think her sleep has improved because she has finally finished cutting her last molar! It has taken the majority of the summer, but Lucy now sports four molars and only needs to cut in her four canines before she (and Will and I!) gets a nice long break before her two year molars are supposed to come in. In the picture below, Lucy is sleeping with her favorite items in the world - Hopps, Brenda, and Huggums who is snuggled under her arm.A couple of weeks ago Lucy found a little frog in our garden. Since then, every chance she gets she finds a stick and pokes around the garden looking for him. I feel bad that she hasn't seen him since. Grandma T donated a fake frog from her garden though, and that seems to pacify her disappointment somewhat.

Lucy went to the beach over Labor Day weekend for sadly the first and last time of the summer. We rented a cabin on Lake Huron with my brother Mike and my new sister in law Jenna. We had a blast even though the weather was cold and rainy most of the weekend. Lucy didn't like the feel of the sand on her bare feet, but tolerated it with her sandals on. She loved trying to skip rocks and spending time with her Uncle and Aunt.

Here she is cuddling with her Uncle Mike. Ever since our weekend with Mike and Jenna, she will not stop talking about "Mike". It has gotten to the point where she will just repeat his name over and over again until I break down and call him on the phone and she gets to talk to him. I ask Lucy where Uncle Mike is and she says "home wit Jenna" in a very sad voice.

The first night we arrived at the beach, Lucy refused to walk on the sand. She definitely enjoyed the alternative.

It was absolutely beautiful at the lake, and a perfect way to end our summer.

To kick off our fall, we went on our annual apple picking trip with the Timmerman family last weekend. Lucy has come a long way from last year's apple picking trip where she slept most of the time in her backpack carrier. She loved picking the apples off the tree this year.
She however found a much easier way to gather apples, and was very proud of her discovery.

No apple bag is too heavy for Miss Lucy!

Happy Fall!